my own dreams
 
 vaporize.
 
 Don’t Get Me Wrong
 
 I do understand my parents wanting only
 
 the best for me.
 
 Am one hundred percent tuned to the concept
 
 that life is a hell of a lot more enjoyable
 
 fun with a fast-
 
 flowing stream of money carrying you
 
 along. I like driving a pricey car, wearing
 
 clothes that feel
 
 like they want to be next to my skin.
 
 I love not having to be a living, breathing
 
 stereotype because
 
 of my color. Anytime I happen to think
 
 about it, I am grateful to my grandparents
 
 for their vision.
 
 Grateful to my mom for her smarts,
 
 to my father for his bald ambition,
 
 and, yes, greed.
 
 Not to mention unreal intuition.
 
 My Grandfather
 
 Andre Marcus Kane Sr. embraced
 
 the color of his skin,
 
 refused to let it straitjacket
 
 him. He grew up in the urban
 
 California nightmare
 
 called Oakland, with its rutted
 
 asphalt and crumbling cement
 
 and frozen dreams,